Shifting Reality
by andrea16465
Summary: Set after the season two finale. John is in the future and no one knows him. His relationship with Cameron takes a turn when he realizes she is actually Allison, and Weaver is now appearing in an interesting form.
1. Chapter 1

**This story came to me while I was sleeping last night after watching the season and possibly series finale of Terminator. It just baffles me how this amazing show is not getting the viewers it needs for Fox to renew it. Rumor has it that if the fourth movie is a huge blockbuster hit, Fox will renew the series… but you didn't hear it from me. This takes place right after John travels to the future. He has to deal with a Cameron/Allison that doesn't know who he is and Weaver who can only be seen when no one else is around. I hope you like it!! Please read and REVIEW! I am challenging EVERYONE (yes I put it in caps) who reads this story to review. Tell me your opinion, give me your ideas, and just say SOMETHING! I have to have inspiration as well as praise or I won't have any motivation to go on.**

John's mind felt numb after everything he had been through. Almost getting killed by that flying machine that had crashed into ZeiraCorp, and then traveling through time into the future. Both times he had stepped into the time machines, they had left him in a state of confusion. It was like his brain had been disassembled and then reassembled together the wrong way. From previous experience, he knew that it would soon fade. He was aware of Derek, Cameron, and… his father.

It couldn't be true. No one remembered him; no one knew who he was. John Connor didn't exist in their timeline. Cameron was dead, but she was here. It was so confusing to him. His thoughts were scattered, only coming to him in brief fragments.

He felt his mind slowly returning to normal and his vision sharpening. He could see things with more detail now. Everyone looked younger. Derek had chubby cheeks and baby face, something John wouldn't have imagined before now. The Derek he knew was too troubled to look like that. He had been through much and was so jaded. Compared to that Derek, this one looked like he had no worries.

His father was looking at him curiously, probably wondering why he was looking in a messed up mirror. Kyle's eyes squinted like he was trying to figure out the answer to a difficult math problem but it was alluding him. John knew that this was going to be hard to explain.

"Who are you again?" His father asked suspiciously.

"John Connor," he replied evenly. He made a mental note to figure out how to explain this later. John knew that he couldn't tell the truth. They would probably kill him or lock him up for fear of him being a headcase. No one wants to be around a crazy person. His mother was a prime example of that.

"Right."

"We can discuss this later. We aren't safe here. We need to get back to the base," Derek called from his position guarding the door. A loud buzzing noise could be heard above them.

"Agreed. Sorry if you are going to have to run in that," Kyle yelled back, beckoning John to follow him.

John's thoughts reluctantly turned to the teenager next to his father. She was still petting the German Sheppard slowly, running her long fingers through its hair again and again. Her movements weren't as mechanical as he was used to. In fact, her fluidity threw him off. He could be sure that it wasn't his Cameron. She hadn't stuck up for him like he knew she would have. She looked at him curiously, but at the same time, she looked so relaxed.

Everyone started walking hastily, their pace being slowed considerably by the constant threat of being found. They were continuously checking their backs, making 360 turns to make sure they weren't being followed. His talks with Cameron had provided a little insight into life in the future, but not much. It was common for terminators to follow unsuspecting people back to a base to find out its location. From there, the terminators would either destroy it or put one of their own in a position of power to find out secrets that would bring down the rest of the Resistance.

Four kilometers later, they arrived at a large building.

"This is the base?"

"No, the base is underground." One of the men grabbed walked up to a back entrance and knocked quietly on the door.

"Password?" A husky voice asked.

"Velveeta," the dark haired man answered.

"Interesting method of identification, but not very effective," John whispered to himself.

"Maybe not, but it has been working for us so far," Derek said.

"If one of them needed to gain access all they would have to do is listen in and come up with a convincing human disguise. They would be in, and they would bring you down. Another mistake is only posting one guard. If he was taken by surprise, then you would have no warning of an impending attack."  
"Those are good ideas, and I will bring them up to the people in charge. But don't you mean us? You happen to live here now, unless you are planning to relocate. The nearest base is twenty miles away, and I highly doubt that anyone is going to take you there."

John shook his head and walked into the building guardedly. He was always watching his own back. He was so sick of it. There was a large staircase, by no means fancy, that seemed to lead to a door on the lower level. He strode towards the door quickly, opening it up for the rest of them.

Derek walked by and nodded at him. He didn't know what to think of this new John kid. He wanted to be suspicious of him, but it was so hard. He just had one of those faces or something. He knew Derek's name, even acted surprised when he didn't know John's. He resolved to get to know this kid better. If he was some kind of a spy, Derek wanted to keep an eye on him.

Kyle walked by next and smiled weakly at John. John's mind raced, still trying to figure out an explanation. Kyle gave him an apologetic, but curious look. Now wasn't the time for talking, but they both knew that he needed to explain this somehow.

Two more men scurried past, eyeing his face. He figured they were trying to figure out the relationship between him and Kyle. The resemblance was undeniable, and John cursed the stars that he looked more like his father than his mother.

Lastly, Cameron bounced by. She was the only one to say anything.

"Hi."

"Hey."

"My name's Allison. You're John, right? Sorry about Derek and Kyle. They can be a little patronizing and they don't trust very easily. You are going to have to work to earn their faith." They started walking, trailing behind the rest. It was like a maze. If a terminator wanted to infiltrate the complex, it would need intricate building plans. John suddenly understood why they had chosen to make a base here. Allison? She was human. He didn't know that there had been a human before the machine. He wasn't expecting it, but he hadn't removed it from the realm of possibility.

"That's okay. I'm used to that. My entire childhood consisted of move after move. I never had time to make any friends before I moved to a new town. I was the loner pretty much everywhere I went. I'm used to nobody trusting me."

"But did the fate of the world depend on who you trusted and who trusted you?"

"No," he flat out lied, "It didn't."

"Well, maybe you can see why they would be so cautious of you."

He considered it for a moment. "I suppose I can."

The group had reached another door. It creaked open when Kyle pushed on it.

"This is where the base really starts." It was a long hallway lined with doors. People were on the radio telling others of the groups return. Men were thumping Derek, Kyle, and the two others on the back, congratulating them on their safe return. A teen approached Allison, and gave her a bear hug. Allison returned it with a grin on her face.

"John. We're gonna take you to your new room," Kyle called over the noise and the cheers. John followed him, trying to avoid other people as much as possible. Two turns later, they arrived at a door that looked just like all the rest.

"Your room number is 77." John looked all over the door. He could see no number. Kyle pointed to the bottom right-hand corner. There was a tiny 77 there. "All of the rooms are interconnected in case of an emergency. Derek's is on your left and Allison's is on your right. My room is on the other side of Derek's. We will all be keeping a very close eye on you. No funny business, understand?" John nodded slowly.

John strolled into his room and shut the door behind him. There was a bed in the corner, and a dresser in another. Other than that, there wasn't much to look at. There was a door on either side of the room, away from the bed for obvious reasons.

"We are luckier than most. The majority of the other bases I've traveled to don't even have mattresses. Living quarters there are so cramped, you might have ten people sleeping in a room this size. You are lucky you were found by us or you would've had to live there," Allison said, leaning in the doorframe that attached his room to hers. She sauntered into his room, plopping down on the bed.

"Well then, I will consider myself extremely lucky." He sat down on the bed as well.

"Derek, Kyle, TJ, Andy and I are a team. We have to stick together or it will be simple for one of them to take us out. I just finished talking to Derek. He says that as long as you are going to be staying here, you should make yourself useful. He said something about not wanting to waste food. You are going to be a temporary part of our team until such time when there are enough new people to make an entirely new team. I think it also has something to do with the fact that they don't trust you. If you are going to be up to any mischief, they want it right under their noses."

"How nice for them," john said sarcastically.

"Personally, I don't think you are a threat. I think you could actually help us. Must be something about your face… I stuck up for you, and that's probably the only reason why you are still here. Andy wanted to ship you off to Death Row," Allison said, and made a face.

"Death Row? What's that?"

"It's our little nickname for a base we have in Antarctica. There have to be twenty people in a room just to keep your body temperature above freezing and they go on the most terrible missions in the cold. So many people die there. Mostly people that have done something wrong, you know, prisoners before J Day, spies, and people that we don't trust. It's the electric chair but worse because we can't condone the death penalty. There are so few of us left, it would be an outrage if we started executing them. This is the closest the leadership these days can get to it."

John was shocked. This was not the future he had expected. But of course, that was where he came in. He was supposed to make a better future. That's what Cameron had said, but he was starting to doubt that he could.

"Well, I should be going. I'll wake you up tomorrow when we leave for our next assignment," she got up off the bed.

"Hey, wait!" She turned around quickly.

"Do you have any clothes?" he asked pointedly, looking down at himself, clad in only a long jacket.

She smirked. "Check the dresser. The man in here before you was killed three days ago, and his stuff should still be there." She walked through the door and shut it quietly behind her.

John stood up and walked over to the dresser. He opened the first drawer and sure enough, there were five sets of clothes in there. The second one contained boxers and other things John figured he might need later. He checked the third one and found a ripped pair of flannel pants and a t-shirt. He figured they were probably supposed to be pajamas, so he put them on.

He collapsed back on the bed, rubbing his eyes tiredly. He felt himself drifting in and out of consciousness.

"Wake up." The harsh voice pulled him back to reality. He would have screamed had it not been for the hand that instantly went over his mouth as soon as it had opened. "Quiet. Wouldn't want them to know that I am here, would you?" It was Weaver.

"Why shouldn't I tell them? You are one of them after all," he whispered as soon as she released him.

"Because I am from a time period far in the future. I can help you fit in here. I can help you be who you need to become to beat Skynet," she said sharply.

He relaxed a little. "Okay, how am I doing?"

"Not well. They are suspicious of you. They will want to know your story soon."

"So what is my story?"

"You are Kyle Reese's half-sister's son. They are estranged, and he will not know the difference. That will explain the similarities. You have been living on the street since your mother died one year ago," she said without hesitating.

"That will explain a lot of things. Are you sure he even has a half-sister?"

"I looked it up before you came to my office."

"Where have you been all this time?" he asked.

"Looking for John Henry."

"Did you find him?"

"Yes. He has been doing all he can to counteract Skynet. In fact, if it weren't for him, there would be no one left on the planet," she said, a touch of pride present in her voice.

"Well, tell him I said thank you," John said sarcastically.

"This body makes you nervous. Does it not? Maybe I will become something that will put you more at ease." She changed into the shimmering silvery substance that John assumed was her natural form. She changed back into human form.

"No! Anyone but her! It hurts too much. And the last thing I need is to be confused," he added at the end, somewhat lamely. Weaver had changed into an exact replica of Cameron.

"But your blood pressure and heart rate went down. Wouldn't want to give you a heart attack, would I?" It sounded like her too. Hearing her voice automatically put him at ease.

"You see? You need to get some sleep, you have a long day ahead of you," Cameron said lightly, stepping toward a wall.

"When will you be back?"

"Soon. I can only come when other people aren't around, or someone will get suspicious. It will be soon, trust me. I will give John Henry your greeting." She took another step, "And don't worry. Seeing the effect it has on you, I will be returning in this form," she smirked a little, and then stepped into the wall. It was like the wall molded around her tiny figure as she walked through it. She soon vanished and left John lonelier than ever.

**Okay, what do you think? I promise more things will be explained in the next chapter. So, if you haven't already gathered this, Weaver will now be appearing as Cameron. I don't know exactly how this will affect John, but I'm sure I will think of something. If anyone wants to talk about the story or contribute ideas (which I desperately need) PLEASE feel free. I love to talk to new people! Anyway, I LOVE reviews so PLEASE do that as well, and take on the challenge (LOL, sounds like something from Halo.) Tell me what you think!!!**


	2. Chapter 2

**I really hope that I didn't keep anybody waiting too long for this update. I sort of know where this is going. I tutor someone who is three years older than me and every day this week, he has ditched me, so I have a lot of free time on my hands to write this. Ok, after you read this chapter, the new Halo-ish challenge is to give me your opinion on whether I am doing a good job or not. More importantly, I want **_**EVERYONE WHO READS THIS**_** (bold **_**and**_** italicized this time!) to write a review and tell me whether John should be with Allison or still be thinking about Cameron. Other ideas are also welcome, as are private messages.**

**Disclaimer: I am NOT making any money off of this. Even if I was, I would still be the smart-ass girl you have come to know and love.**

John awoke as he heard the loud creak of a door opening. Something felt weird. He was not on his comfortable mattress. This one was harder, almost like there was no mattress at all. He could hear footsteps less than three feet away.

He suddenly remembered where he was. A resistance base, that was it. But who could be sneaking into his room like this. It was something his mother used to do, but she wasn't here, so who could it be? He vaguely remembered not being able to get his hands on any kind of gun to protect himself. The footsteps got closer. If it was a terminator, he would have to run. Distract it first, maybe. Last night, after Catherine Weaver left, John found a hidden knife in a secret compartment in the dresser. He had it in his bed with him, slept with it in his hand. He was glad that he did. Instinctively, he gripped it tighter.

The footsteps stopped right next to him. He was facing the wall, so he couldn't see anything. Hadn't his mother taught him not to do that? Hadn't she broken him from that habit? It seemed not as John held his breath, waiting for something to happen. Why didn't the bastard just get it over with? Why put him through the uncertainty? The suspense was driving him crazy. John didn't wait to find out. He quickly rolled over and kicked the back of the intruder's knees with as much power as he could muster. The move seemed to have a positive effect as it fell to the ground. Why did it fall? It was merely meant to be a distraction; it wasn't supposed to take it down. Terminators were tougher than that. John made a split second decision. If this worked, it would forever gain Derek and Kyle's trust. He could kill the terminator.

It was a foolish decision, and John knew it. He was tired of always running, always hiding. It was his mother's idea, really. But his mother wasn't here, and he wasn't the John Connor that everyone thought he was to become. It didn't matter if he lived or died anymore. He was not the leader of the resistance. He was not a hero. Besides, the chances that he would be able to escape were slim to none, so why not take the chance?

While the terminator was still on the floor, facing downwards, John jumped on top of it, straddling its waist. He put the knife to its head.

Suddenly, it shrieked. Not a manly shriek, not a terminator one. One of a scared human. A human shriek. John recoiled in horror.

Another door opened and slammed against the opposite wall of the small room.

"Drop it!" Derek and Kyle dashed into the room, guns trained on his head. John quickly complied, springing off of his "attacker."

Neither of them took their guns off of him as Kyle offered his free hand to… Allison. Shit, it was just Allison coming to get him for an assignment. He silently asked himself why he hadn't just turned around, taken the time to look. Deep down though, he knew why. Looking back got you killed. Looking back gave the terminators all the time they needed to kill you. With that one second that might not seem too significant to a human, a machine could easily reach their hand out and snap someone's neck.

"What the hell are you doing?" Derek asked once Allison was positioned safely behind them.

"I'm sorry! I thought she was one of them. I've lived like that for a long time. Trusting no one, realizing that every time I let my guard down, I could be killed. I haven't seen anyone besides those bastards for too long. I'm sorry…I just… thought she was one. Next time, just say something, okay Allison?" That babbling thing was back. It was another unconscious habit that he believed his mother had broken. It seemed now that she wasn't here, he was making mistakes right and left. He made a terrible mistake and just made it worse by insinuating that he could snap at anytime because he hadn't had any human contact for too long.

"It's okay," Allison squeaked from behind his family, "He didn't mean any harm."

"The hell he didn't! Did you see what he was about to do? He was about to kill you, Allison!" Derek shouted, trying in vain to get her to understand. John guessed that unless Derek had someone to hate, he would be a very unhappy man. Part of his genetic makeup maybe? John would have liked to examine that gene under a microscope. He just hoped that he could remedy the situation before it got any worse.

The fact that Allison was afraid was clear. John could see it in her eyes, but she seemed to be calming down. The battle hardened side of her told her to stay, but her child-like side was telling her to run. He would never get used to it. A Cameron... no, Allison… with emotions. What he just did wouldn't have scared his Cameron in the least. In fact, she probably would have let John kill her. She could never risk hurting the infamous John Connor. But then again, he couldn't compare Allison to his Cameron. His Cameron. He really should stop thinking of her like that. Cameron was a machine and Allison was human. But they looked and acted so much alike that it was hard not to compare. They didn't act the same, but John figured that Cameron's programming was loosely based on Allison's mind. They would probably think the same; do the same thing in a situation.

It was a really bad time to be having those kinds of thoughts, with two guns pointed at his head. He put those thoughts to the back of his mind, storing them for later.

Allison moved closer to him, despite protests from the others. She reached down to where he had dropped the knife. She picked it up thoughtfully. When she was fully standing again, she took another step closer to John. She quickly held her hands up to show that she meant no harm. She took slow steps until she was finally right in front of him. She tossed the knife up in the air and caught it, catching the blade with her palm. John's eyes widened as she winced. She thrust her hand out to him roughly, urging him to take it. As he reached out to grab it, her grip loosened considerably, but not all of the way. He took it and held it in front of his face. He cringed when he saw blood on it. More blood than a terminator could ever bleed.

Allison held her palm up slowly. There was a long gash running across it from her wrist to the bottoms of her fingers. It was bleeding, showing no signs of ever stopping.

"Human," she said simply. John's jaw dropped when he realized that he had done it on purpose. It was a test, not only to see if he was trustworthy enough for a knife, but to assure him that she was human, not one of them. Not Cameron, not the one he knew. Machines don't bleed like that.

She walked quickly back into her room, holding her hand against her chest.

"What should we do with him?" asked Derek.

"I'm convinced that it was an honest mistake. Allison should have said something. Actually, I'm baffled as to why she didn't. I mean, if that happened to you, what would you have done? I don't know though, wouldn't want it happening again," Kyle pondered.

An image popped into his head. Himself on Death Row, himself in Antarctica. Himself freezing to death outside in the cold.

Was that all he ever thought about? Himself? His mission was to help people, to help them fight and beat Skynet. To help them destroy it.

"I'm sorry. I know that sounds so stupid, but I really am. It wasn't intentional and it will never happen again. I would never hurt Allison on purpose," he hung his head in shame.

Derek and Kyle looked at each other, deliberating.

"I know John," Kyle sighed, "Just see that it doesn't. We still have a mission to complete, and the boss won't be happy if we don't get going right now."

John nodded slowly. This was probably a one-time thing; people couldn't keep sticking up for him. At some point, he would have to get a clue and smarten up or he was in big trouble.

"Don't know how a street rat survived so long on his own," Derek muttered to Kyle.

John changed into a military issue uniform and stowed the knife away in his pants. As he was walking out the door, Derek grabbed his arm.

"I know that you think that I don't like you. I do, really. I just have a problem trusting people, and you look a lot like me. I'm just trying to figure out the relation. Are you like a second cousin or something?"

"Hey man, it's time to go," Kyle called from in the hall.

"We'll talk later," Derek promised. John didn't doubt that he meant it. He was obviously curious and John hoped that the excuse Weaver had given him would get rid of it.

The two of them started walking through the halls. The same thing happened as yesterday, except this time, people were wishing them luck instead of congratulating them. When they got to the catacombs, they met up with Allison who had gauze wrapped around her hand. She was talking to a team that had just returned. John wondered idly if she was in any pain. The gauze looked tight, and it was probably cutting off her circulation.

"Allison, I…"

"Don't. It's ok, really. I would have done the same thing if I were you," she tried to brush it off.

"No it's not. It was an accident, but I should have looked before I attacked," John said, still apologetic.

"No. When a terminator was really in your room, you don't look back, no matter what. I'm not mad, I was just taken by surprise," she said lightly.

She was just like Cameron, taking responsibility when it wasn't her fault. It was a pet peeve of his, and in the past, he had tried to fix it. Maybe he would have better luck now. They walked side by side for a while, a little bit behind Derek, Kyle, TJ and Andy.

"What exactly is our mission?"

"Recon. There is a Skynet base about fifteen miles from here, and last week I fixed up a car. It's one of the newest models, made right before Judgment Day. I made it virtually silent. It can get us close."

"How did you do that? I assume there are no fossil fuels nowadays," John asked, confused.

"Death Row is sitting on top of a coal mine."

"So that's what they do there. Do people die doing it?"

"Coal mining is dangerous," Allison said. It sounded exactly like Cameron, the short choppy sentence reminding him of her more than anything else Allison had done.

Once they had reached the surface, the team walked about half a mile in total silence until they reached a building with a garage. TJ grabbed a handle on the door and pulled upwards. What John saw shocked him. He had no idea that cars were this advanced in the future.

Inside were many cars, but only one caught his eyes. It was small and black. The door opened by flipping upwards in a circular motion. It was obviously fast, and he could see that Allison had made significant improvements to the body armor.

"We're taking that?"

"Yup."

"This is going to be fun."

**Ok, brutal truth. What do you think? I know there wasn't a lot of dialogue in this chapter and it may have been kind of boring. Thanks to my bff for lying to me and telling me it wasn't. I shouldn't be writing this late. Everyone keeps telling me but I just keep doing it. Next chapter, action and dialogue. This chapter was okay, but not my best. Anyway, if you need to be reminded, review and tell me your opinion on who John should be with. ****REVIEW!!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, you guys are really screwing me over. I had a whole John/Allison storyline laid out, and now an overwhelming majority of you say that you would rather have a Cameron/John storyline. Grrrrr. So now I have to rewrite the entire story. How did I trick myself into believing that you would want anything more than Jameron? Remember, this story is made by you, meaning you have to tell me what you want to see in it (I know you think that I only ask because I can't think of my own ideas, but that is not the case.) I want to write something everyone will like and I can't know what that is until you tell me. How do you want me to bring Cam back? Oh, this time I want you to review and tell me (now that John and Allison can't be together!) if Derek's protectiveness of Allison should turn into something more (I think it should.) Maybe somehow I could tie in why he hates her so much in the series… I'll put a little taste in this chapter for you. If you really want to know what I'm planning for the rest of the story, send me a review or a private message and ask. I don't mind giving away spoilers. I should be able to get back to you in a few hours.**

The entire team squished into the cramped car, trying to fit six into a vehicle that should only fit four. Kyle was driving, Andy was in the passenger seat, John was in the backseat with Derek and TJ, and Allison was on the floor behind the backseat. She seemed to be trying to get the car to start by tweaking a panel on the floor. Kyle put the key in the ignition and twisted it. Nothing happened.

"Allison, it's not starting," Kyle said. She worked on the floor for a few minutes more.

"Derek, can you come back here to help me?" She brandished a screwdriver at him. He hopped over the backseat and joined her, sitting on his heels. If he moved an inch upwards, he would hit his head on the ceiling. He took the screwdriver out of her hand and started working with her. She wasn't moving her other hand much, which was probably why she needed Derek to help her.

"Allison, what's the holdup? I know this moron attacked you, but from what I hear, you did the number on your hand all by yourself," Andy sneered, looking backwards to where she was. His tone was different from when Kyle said it. Kyle said it like a statement, but Andy seemed smug about the fact that she may be struggling. John noted that he was the one who Allison said wanted to send him to Death Row. Apparently, he didn't like people very much.

"Don't worry kid. He likes to be on a strict time schedule. When something goes wrong, he gets really cranky. He doesn't mean it, just don't pay attention to him," TJ said, giving an encouraging smile to John. He resolved to keep his distance from Andy.

"I'll be done in a minute," Allison called.

"Do you think the metal will be willing to wait while you fix the car? Probably not."

"Stop it Andy. She's doing the best she can. Maybe she will be able to go faster if you just shut the hell up," Derek said roughly. That was new, a Derek who didn't hate Cameron, or rather, Allison. John was starting to confuse himself.

"Maybe if your bitch here had fixed it yesterday, we wouldn't have to deal with it today."

"Get out of the car." Andy quickly complied and Derek also began climbing out.

John's eyes widened, curious about what Derek was going to do. He guessed that no one was going to be hurt, but then again, Derek was unpredictable.

"If you have something to say, say it to me. I know you have been having problems lately, but we are supposed to be a team. If we can't get along, then I see no reason not to request a transfer for you. And you don't want that, do you, because I will transfer you straight to Death Row. Got it?" Andy gulped. Once Derek was done threatening him, he got right back in the car and continued glaring daggers at Allison, but didn't say anything. Derek climbed back into the car and picked up the long forgotten screw driver.

"Derek…"

"Hmmm."

"Thank you," Allison whispered quietly.

"You're welcome," Derek winked at her. John knew that he was the only one to hear this quiet exchange. It gave him a weird feeling inside. It could have been jealousy, but it could have also been residual feelings for Cameron making themselves known. He sighed inwardly.

"We're good to go," Allison called to Kyle.

"Great, I was getting a little antsy," he grinned and the car rumbled to life. How long would it take for a car as advanced as this to make it fifteen miles to the Skynet base, John wondered.

"Kyle, please take it slow. Fifty miles per hour max, or Skynet will hear us," she cautioned him.

"Alright," he reluctantly conceded. A car virtually silent even at speeds of fifty miles an hour, that was impressive. As the car started moving, John looked out the window. The ground was covered with bumps and potholes. He concluded that it was going to be a very bumpy ride.

"You okay?" TJ asked, noticing his changed expression.

"Yeah, I was just thinking about how bumpy it's gonna be," John said evenly. To prove his point, he grabbed onto the door handle.

"Oh, don't worry about that. Allison fixed the tires to be less like a golf cart and more like a dirt bike. It shouldn't be bad at all," TJ smiled confidently at him. As he said that, the car jerked. "It doesn't like me very much."

"Sorry…Pothole." John rolled his eyes at his father. He began to tear up as he remembered his mother's driving lesson. They were trying to escape from a terminator and she was teaching him to drive stick shift. She had made some quip about being the savior of humanity and not knowing how to drive one. He watched the landscape go by and wondered idly what Weaver was doing. Helping John Henry maybe? But it did no good to speculate.

The car jolted again and Allison let out a tiny yelp. John looked back to see Derek steadying her with his hand on her shoulder. His inner beast stirred again.

"We're here."

They were at the edge of a town, what probably used to be farmland. The entire town was still. He looked closer. One building was emitting large amounts of smoke.

"Is that it?" The car rolled to a stop. The six of them got out quietly.

"Yup. We're gonna stay in the hills for a few hours. Our mission is to observe, nothing more, nothing less. We have to see if there are any guard changes. Our leaders say that this would be a perfect spot for a major attack on Skynet. We're just here to find a weakness," Kyle said.

"Do you know how to use a gun?" Derek called, popping open the trunk.

"Of course."

Derek grinned. "Then here you go. Don't shoot anything or you'll give us away."

The gun felt natural to John, like an old friend. He loaded it and tucked it into the back of his pants. The six of them walked toward the hills and took cover. They weren't expecting trouble, but it never hurt to be cautious. John took a spot near the biggest hill with Kyle. TJ and Andy were four yards to the left of them, crouching behind trees. Derek and Allison were only three yards away hiding behind the remnants of a cottage that had been destroyed long ago.

"How long are we supposed to wait here?" John asked.

"Three hours. After that, another team takes over for us," Kyle replied, not taking his eyes off of the building.

"That's inefficient," he muttered to himself.

They continued to whisper back and forth to each other for the next two and a half hours. John found out more about the future that he wasn't a part of. Things were different than Cameron had described them. She had described destroyed buildings and towns but instead, the buildings were intact. Kyle explained that almost immediately after J Day Skynet had rebuilt certain buildings, making them bigger, stronger. The resistance had long suspected that there was an ulterior motive for this, but no one would even guess what it was. This specific base was a command center as well as a work camp. This was one of the other reasons that the resistance wanted this base gone. Many people would be freed and willing to fight the machines that imprisoned and tortured them.

John could see the logic in almost everything they did, though that didn't mean that he agreed with them. Death Row was only one example, experimenting on humans was another. Anyone who had an immunity to a specific disease that was being spread around was taken to a facility and tested. According to Kyle, some of them were even taken apart, piece by piece. After the doctors were done, most people were too deformed to be of any use. Most of them couldn't pass on the gene that made them immune. Others were killed. This was not the future Cameron told him about. She had insisted that he had always stuck to his morals, never doing anything like this. He sighed.

Suddenly, something emerged from the trees near the base. It was a machine, they could tell by the way it walked. Another one went out to meet it, they didn't pause to talk like humans would, they just switched places.

"That one's expertise must be needed elsewhere," TJ inferred.

"Don't they use cars?"

"No, why would they. They never get tired."

"They just walk by themselves?" He was getting an idea.

"Do you have a point, or are you just blabbering to blabber?" Andy sneered. He was really getting on John's nerves.

"I do have a point. What if we captured one? We could tap into Skynet's network. We could get all the information we needed just from that. Guard changes, troop deployments…everything."

"Smart kid. And you know how to do this?" Andy asked sarcastically.

"Yes, actually I do. I have some experience with computers."

"Well that's odd. I was under the impression that you grew up in our time, and in our time, there aren't a lot of spare computers lying around," Andy said suspiciously.

"Shit," John muttered unintelligibly.

"What was that?"

"I'll explain later."

"He's right, we need to get back to headquarters. We can present this to the people in charge. Maybe they can come up with a plan to get one on their own," Allison said, starting to get up. The rest soon followed. The car ride back was quiet, each of them playing out their own futures in their minds. The only thing John heard was Allison's quiet humming. This was the way to make them trust him, he was sure of it. Now all he needed to do was pull it off without arousing any suspicion. That was going to be the hardest part. He had to convince them that he knew just enough about computers to make this work. If he was really lucky, Weaver would appear out of thin air and give him some sort of solution. It wasn't very likely though. He was on his own.

**What do you think? I know the stuff about the car sounds like I know nothing about it… but that's because I don't. I've been getting a lot of reviews telling me that they aren't sure about Weaverbot appearing as Cameron, but I have a reason for that. I'm not sure what it is yet, but I'm sure I'll think of something. As I was writing this chapter, I was planning out the rest of the story in my head. I think I may have something good. REMEMBER, tell me if Derek's over protectiveness of Allison should turn into something more. **_**I**_** think so because that would kind of tie into why he hates her so much in the series. Besides, they might look cute together, but that's just me. I'm probably going to do it anyway. HOW SHOULD I BRING CAM BACK? Wow, I'm really random. This story is made by you, so I need and love your opinions! If I don't get them, I will do what I want, and nobody wants that. REVIEW (because I love hearing from you)!!**


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